The win was the first for the Rebels under new coach and Bridgewater State alumnus Rachael Sprague. Sprague started at shortstop for the Bears from 2006-09 and was part of three NCAA Division 3 tournament teams while at BSU.

“Our bats were kind of deflated due to their (Walpole’s) outstanding pitching,” said Allison.

The day got off to a great start for Oliver Ames. After junior starting pitcher Mattea Sarnecki had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, the Tigers’ bats went to work. Senior Erin Lynch and Missy Krim hit singles, putting runners at first and second with nobody out.

After both runners moved up to second and third, Victoria Ziner got OA on the board with an RBI sac-fly, making it 1-0. Senior catcher Nicole Cosgrove followed with an RBI single, increasing the Tigers’ lead to 2-0 after one inning.

After the sides held each other scoreless in the second, Walpole’s offense struck again, as Maddy Oser (three hits) reached on a bunt single before Regan smashed a two-run double, tying the game, 2-2, after three.

Despite getting into trouble in the top of the fourth with runners at first and third with two outs, Sarnecki got help from her catcher, Nicole Cosgrove, as Cosgrove threw out Colleen Semler at second base to end the inning with the score still tied at 2.

The Rebels finally broke out top in the top of the fifth as Oser singled, followed by a double by shortstop Lindsey Bruen off reliever Sarah Struzik, putting runners at second and third with nobody out.

After a wild pitch made the score 3-2 in favor of Walpole, Cochrane singled, making it 4-2 Walpole after five innings.

Allison defended her decision to replace Sarnecki with Struzik in the fifth in a tight game.

“They (Walpole) had a couple of runners on base and they had gotten a hold of her (Sarnecki’s ball) and her off-speed pitches,” said Allison. “I just wanted to throw someone else out there to catch them off guard, but they were able to catch up with her (Struzik) as well. We faced a good-hitting team today.”

Walpole added some insurance runs in the top of the seventh as Bruen hit a solo home run to right field, expanding the Rebels’ lead to 5-2. Natalie Lydon then tripled and scored on a groundout, making it 6-2 Rebels.

The Tigers got one run back in the final inning on an RBI groundout by Erin Lynch, cutting it to 6-3, but the Tigers got no closer and suffered their first loss of the season.

“We played well today, but we need to make sure our pitchers keep hitting the low spots in the strike zone,” said Allison. “We know we have a good group here we know we’ll get better with hard work.”